The Colts travelled to Gosport yesterday to play the league leaders. The day didn’t start well with a minor road accident causing severe travel delays for most of the squad. Gosport agreed to a 15 minute delay to KO and Ellingham scrambled to prepare as best as they could. The team started well enough, playing into a strong wind, and moved the ball wide into Adam Kalim’s hands. Gosport’s drift defence was able to close down the outside channel and this was something of a feature for the rest of the afternoon. Gosport were able to disrupt quick ball and Ellingham were slow to adapt, eventually playing Gosport’s game. There were, however, some bright spots with Zachary Leishman working the loop well. Paddy Johnson feeding off Louis Harling and Sam Harrison timing his runs well from fullback. After 22 minutes the three quarters ran the ball from deep in their own half and Aaron Moritzen stepped inside the drift defence and then accelerated up the touch line beating a desperate attempt at a tap tackle from the Gosport fullback. Aaron sprinted a lung busting 60m to touch down for a fine try. The rest of the first half resembled a heavyweight boxing match as the two sets of forwards wrestled for control. Any of the Ellingham pack would be highly considered for the back row at most clubs so an expansive game better suits their strengths. They deserve recognition, however, for their commitment and bravery. The squad was missing three front row yesterday due to illness and injury. Nathan Searle stepped up from the second row to loosehead prop and did a great job. The team were within their rights to ask for uncontested scrums but they didn’t. David Edmunds had to leave the pitch for treatment to a knee injury before bravely returning and again the team shuffled players without asking for any favours. James Edward Morris switched sides in the scrum twice during the game. Andrew Rollett once again stepped into the second row and Jack Grey gave a strong debut at flanker, having only played on the wing before. When Jack had to come off for a hand injury Benjamin Evans replaced him and made a try saving tackle in the last play of the match. Robert Wakefield continues to show his prowess at openside and the pack is superbly lead by Owen Dingle. Zach Lillis also shows tremendous leadership qualities. The second half started with Ellingham playing with more structure. The Gosport defence began to look stretched with Joshua Balais looking for opportunities on the left wing. Teddy Johnson spotted a gap where Gosport had failed to place a guard at the breakdown. Ted burst through and offloaded to a great support run from Nathan who was able to canter over for a good try. At this point Ellingham seemed poised to start to open up but Gosport had different ideas. The wind had dropped and Gosport were able to turn our backs with a number of well-judged kicks. Sam got the team out of trouble on a few occasions as well as Adam and Josh having to step out of trouble while reinforcements arrived. Gosport continued to pressure the Ellingham defence and with five minutes remaining their efforts were rewarded with a good unconverted try. Sensing an opportunity to snatch the game from the visitors, Gosport ran the re-start straight back up the pitch and Ellingham had to put in a determined defensive effort to keep them out. Louis asked the team for one last push and they prevailed with Gosport’s final effort being bundled into touch.
It wasn’t pretty to watch but Ellingham should take pride in their ability to pull through as a team.